bulb planting time is here

I'll not go on about said subject except to say you HAVE to buy and plant your fall and spring flowering bulbs very soon. Some of mine were planted today - dwarf Colchicums and some Eryrthroniums.

PLEASE dont buy them next year because they are cheap.

Our stores are only just beginning to get some fall bulbs in stock now. Many places don't even have them yet.

I was in a DIY store yeserday and they have their full range of spring bulbs in - some were sold out already.

I was thinking of planting some species dwarf tulips as they are the only bulb that seems to survive in my garden but dont really know the best place to look for them.

Paul Christian http://www.rareplants.co.uk

and his Tulips http://www.rareplants.co.uk/tulipa/index.htm

OMG! someone take my credit card away from me quick!!!!! ;) thanks Mark :))

you dont really want to look t the whole site or you will be in trouble

too late Ive seen it!! :))

Fall bulbs can be planted anytime throughout the fall and winter. If you can dig.....it's still ok to plant. Alot of people think it's too late to plant after october and november. Here in the south I'm still planting through christmas and sometimes later.

I'm not gonna argue but I say you're wrong.

Bulbs have to be in the ground during the time they would normally root. This then rehydrates the bulb and helps boost the flower spike. Roots forming in the depths of winter cant get established and so the bulb is under stress to produce the flower spike.

You are both right!!!!

Tulips, are considered an annual in the South. Other bulbs willdo relatively well in the South. Planting them too early like September/October will make them have leaves way before the change of frost is there and thus most foliage will freeze off and/or buds will freeze. Therefor planting in December and January is OK. These tulips do need some artificial cold though, by means of storage in a refrigerator. (Do NOT keep fruit in the same refrigerator as it produces ethylene and that harms the flower inside the bulb).

Bleek , you are sure right about the Tulips and the south! I cant imagine planting any spring flowering bulb now. It is 92 degrees today. I always plant my tulips after the first hard freeze. If I get them early I store in a spare fridge in the garage.Mine always come back though,at my last house i had some that were 3 years old. This year will be my first Tulip planting in my new home.

what is the reason for planting tulips after the frost?

Mark, untill the first hard freeze our weather is so unpredictable that we may have weeks of warm weather between weeks of cool weather , a false spring if you will. Bulbs get fooled into thinking its spring and start to grow, then get killed off when winter truly sets in.At least that's how it is in the South! Generally, after the first hard freeze the weather doesnt get warm enough for this to happen.I couldnt believe it when you said you were already planting bulbs! :-)

This message was edited Tuesday, Aug 19th 11:18 PM

It's the same here in the south coast of England, if we plant too early the bulbs are likely to be fooled into growing too quickly and the young growth can be damaged by sudden frosts. In Mom's garden we can have frosts in October, a relatively warm November/December, then January frost hits! This period of cold and warm fools the bulbs into thinking it's time to make an appearance.

Our spring display wasn't up to it's normal quality this year, several of the bulb clumps sprouted far too early and were damaged by the weather turning cold quickly.

I planted bulbs last year in Montgomery, AL (zone 8a) in January and then later in February and nearly every one came up. Tulips, daffodils, muscari and crocuses.

Mark, you've brought this up before, but not everyone lives in the same kind of climate that you do. People have to do different things in different areas.

Our average temperature for the winter is 9.5°C/17.1F.

I hope my conversion is correct. I dont have a thermometer handy

I just thought I'd add the planting conditions in the San Francisco Bay area. I beg the shippers to send before the 2nd week in October (when they normally ship to my area), because I have to put them in a refrigerator for 8-10 weeks before planting. My favorite time to plant tulips is Thanksgiving weekend because once we hit December the rains start and it's no fun planting in the rain.

If the bulbs aren't pre-cooled, they start coming up within a couple of weeks. Even with pre-cooling, they're pushing their little heads up by the end of December and blooming in February-March. They are definitely annuals in my area as well. I've tried letting the leaves go brown, digging them out, pre-cooling, and re-planting, but it doesn't work well.

Here are a couple of blush tulips from this spring. (John Scheepers--picture taken 3/9/03.)

Sue

Hi,

Just got back from Wal-Mart and spent way too much. I was going after a rewritable CD Drive but bought iris bulbs instead.

I am in zone 8. I am near Montgomery, Al. Should I plant them now or keep them in refrigerator until Dec or Jan?? If I refrigerate them should I keep them misted to keep them from drying out?

Please help.

If you don't buy them now they will be gone. I made that mistake last year and couldn't find them except through catalogs.

Any advice?

Thanks, Clair

Clair, I dont know about iris bulbs, I just throw the tulip bulbs in the fridge and forget about them till its time to plant them.......Sue, beautiful photo!! Try letting the leaves go brown, cut the leaves off and leave them in the ground. Thats what I do, its worth a try!

clairsflower, I don't know the specific rules in the south, but here in SF Bay Area, I just plant Iris with no pre-cooling period. Mine are Dutch or Japanese Iris, not the bearded kind.

One thing I read--when cooling bulbs in the fridge--don't store any kind of citrus with them. Citrus release a gas that bulbs don't like. And, as far as misting the bulbs, I don't think they would like that either. Think of your vegies and how if you leave them in too long, they get moldy. My instructions say to take them out of the packing material and make sure they have good air circulation.

bamasharon, do you have your tulips in the ground with summer perennials? I have little space, so I try to make the most of it, and if I leave the tulips in the ground, the lilies grow up around them and I water all summer. I'm wondering if that, along with the mild temperatures (so no dormant period), is what's keeping my tulips from returning the next year. Glad you liked the pix, I have it as a background on my computer at work.

clairsflowers, are you talking about bearded iris rhizomes? If so, they don't require any cooling. I don't know about the other kinds of iris bulbs.

You should go to the iris forum and ask there.
http://davesgarden.com/f/iris/

Cheri'

I'm in zone 8 also and plant my Iris bulbs when they come come into the garden centres. They root and start to grow in a few weeks and can have leaves up to 12 inches by late winter and then flower at the right time. Dont buy ones which have already got leaves growing.

Hi, Thanks everyone for the help. I have tons and tons of planting containers. I will plant them in the containers and move into greenhouse if necessary. I did go to the iris forum and everyone said plant them now and they will have time to root and should bloom in the spring. Everyone have a great day. Clair

Sue, I do have summer perennials in with my Tulips...the constant watering might be the problem........Have you tried planting the Tulips in a large pot and then moving them to a shady area out of sight when they have finished blooming? Or maybe Tulips are really annuals where your concerned?! LOL

Beautiful photo...I thought I was the only one with THE SICKNESS.... I need to always remind my son to be careful and watch what he eats from the refrigerator. Being 16 that is a smart warning.

I have a special spot in my garden where each year I make a large mound and just make my tulip spot.

Last year it was in honor of mom, who went on a cruise to holland... guess what I told her I wanted as a travel gift.


Good luck and garden in good health..

Im always in for seed trades.. out here in sunny california...

Fall is finally in the air! The high this week wont be over 72 and down into the 40's at night. I have a new Tulip bed just waiting for the new babies I ordered from the Tulip co-op, I can't wait!